Preternatural
by Agnes Acacia
Summary: Penelope and Katerina are hunters hell bent on destroying the evil that plagues our world. They have one rule, avoid the Winchesters at all cost. They've heard the stories. You get involved with the Winchesters, you end up dead. But when their paths cross, how will the sisters fare in the brother's crossfire? -Potential SPN spinoff with much needed badass female characters
1. Prologue

**Then.**

Hamel, IL

Two young girls huddle together in a closet. It is night, and it is cold. Outside of the closet something is screaming. Loud, long, screaming. The kind of screaming that has never been made by a human mouth.

The younger girl clings to the older one, her tears dampening her pajama shirt.

"Shhh," the older one whispers. She is nine years old, with wispy dark hair and a pretty face. "It's okay," she breathes, even though she knows it isn't.

The younger one whimpers and bites her fist, her doll-like face shining with fear. Suddenly a loud thunk sounds on the closet door and the girls both let out strangled cries.

Whatever is outside knows they are in here.

The thumping continues, getting louder and louder with each hit. The wood on the door begins to crack and the older one pushes the younger girl behind her. She reaches around for anything she can find to protect herself and her sister. The little one is screaming now. Loud and strange. The older one grasps an old wire hanger off the floor and grips it tight.

The door shatters.

A shrouded figure bursts in, its arms wide and its face terrible. The older one stands up, the hanger held out front like a sword.

"Get away from us!" she shouts, her voice braver than she feels. The creatures screams its long mournful cry, its mouth and teeth slick with fresh blood. The blood of their parents, the girl realizes in horror. The creature rears back like a cobra, ready to strike. The girl lashes out with the hanger, knowing the weak weapon will do little against this horrible creature. She swings with all of her little girl strength and prepares for the pain of being devoured.

When the hanger connects with the beast's face it lets out another horrible scream and disappears in a cloud of smoke. The girl stands wide eyed in the closet, her hanger still poised for the attack. The figure reforms again, several feet back now, its horrible face contorted in anger. It's scream yet again fills the house. It charges again, but this time the girl knows what to do. She swipes at the creature's face again and it dissolves. It reforms quicker this time and comes at her again, and again, looking for weak spots. The girl cuts at the thing wildly, adrenaline keeping her on her feet.

The thing rears up again and the girl prepares to strike once more, but suddenly a loud burst sounds, like a gunshot, and the monster disappears in another gust of smoke.

Standing behind the beast is a man holding a shotgun. He is a big man, strong,and the girl is not afraid.

The beast reforms and attacks him now. He shoots it again, but the monster is prepared. It ducks the shot and swoops low, knocking the man off his feet, sending the shotgun flying.

"Stay here," the girl screams at the little one who is still huddled behind her. She runs out of the closet and grabs the gun. She's never touched a gun before. She doesn't know how they work. But the beast is descending on the man who is lying helpless on the floor. She points the gun and pulls the trigger.

Nothing happens.

She tries again, but the gun doesn't fire. There aren't any bullets left. She is still holding the wire hanger in her hand so she attacks the beast with it again, stabbing it in the back so it disappears again.

The man looks up and sees the girl standing over him. He looks confused, but grateful.

"The doll," he yells. "Where is it?"  
At first the girl doesn't know what he's talking about. She stares at him as if he is crazy. But then she remembers. The doll with the white dress and the crossed eyes. She and her sister had found it in the house a few weeks ago when they moved in. Her sister had been _sleeping _with it. Her eyes go wide at the realization and she takes off down the hall. The man follows closely behind and just before they reach the little girl's room, the beast forms in front of them. The man tries to push the girl out of the way, but the beast makes its move and knocks her to the ground. The man takes out a knife and swipes at the creature. It dodges and they grapple for a few seconds. Meanwhile, the girl crawls into the bedroom and yanks the doll off the bed.

Not knowing what else to do, she bangs the doll's porcelain face against the ground, hoping to smash it. It does nothing except attract the attention of the monster. It turns toward her and lets out another loud scream. The girl screams back, as loud and as long as she can.

"Give me the doll!" the man yells from the hallway.

The girl hurls the doll at the man just as the creature descends on her. She screams as its cold hands clamp down on her, the sharp teeth inches from her face. Then suddenly the creature is burning, the flames devouring its shadowy form in a slow spiral. The girl is not burned by the fire, and soon she is lying on the floor, completely safe. She looks up and the man is standing over the doll, the flames consuming the tattered white dress and porcelain face.

Panting, the girl gets to her feet. She runs toward the hallway, past the man and the burning doll, past the mutilated bodies of her parents, passed the chaos that is now her house and lunges toward the closet where she'd left her sister.

"Penelope!" she cries, reaching in. The little girl's clammy hands grasp at the older girl blindly. The older girl lifts her out, and together they fall to the floor, the older girl murmuring in the little girl's ear. "It's alright," she says, even though she knows it isn't.

The man stands in the hallway watching the doll burn. He can hear the little girls in the other room and he too is comforted by the older girl's murmuring. He bends down and picks up the hanger from the floor. He examines the item that has saved his life. "I'll be damned," he says to himself. "Iron."

Sirens blare from outside the house. He looks to the little girls still huddled by the broken closet. He needs to leave soon. It won't do to be caught inside a ruined house with two dead bodies. He approaches the girls and squats beside them. The older one looks up.

"I believe this belongs to you." He hands her the hanger and stands to leave.

"Wait!" the girl cries, untangling herself from the sobbing toddler. "You can't just leave us here!"

The man pauses and looks at the girl. He's saved countless children in his life, but this is the first time one saved him. He hesitates. She's right, he can't just leave them here.

"They're real, aren't they?" she says, her eyes wide. "Monsters."

He nods. He can't let this little girl be told that what happened tonight was her imagination. He can't do that to her.

"How do I fight them?" she cries. "How do I protect my sister?"

And that does it. Something inside the man breaks as he watches this fiery little girl. She reminds him of another child hell bent on protection the one thing he holds dear. He reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a notebook.

"Here," he says, handing it to her. "This is everything I know about monsters and how to fight them. Don't give it to anyone else, you hear? It's just for you. And if you ever need help, there's a phone number on the front page, okay? You call me and I'll send help."

The girl looks at the book in her hands with wide eyes. "But, don't you need it?" she asks.

The man shrugs. "I'll just make a new one."

The sirens outside are getting louder. It's time for the man to go. He stands up and looks at the girls again. He hopes he never sees them again. He hopes they forget about this night. But one look at the older girl's eyes tells him that she will remember this moment for the rest of her life. He shrugs. There isn't much else he can do. He turns and he leaves.

The older girl watches him walk out before she opens the book. The first page has a phone number as promised. There is also a name.

John Winchester.


	2. Chapter 1

**Now.**

St. Louis, MO

San Winchester sits alone at a bar. It is early evening and the bar has a few customers, but the atmosphere is relatively quiet. He is looking over some files and nursing a beer. He holds up a photograph of a young woman who's gone missing. She's left a trail of dead bodies behind her and Sam suspects she has been possessed by a demon. He studies another photograph showing her dead father and looks for clues.

A tall blonde woman approaches the bar and sits down. She orders a beer and looks around. Spotting Sam, her eyes light up. She slides over and parks herself next to him.

"Come here often?" she asks, a playful smile on her lips.

Sam looks up distractedly, ready to politely say he's not interested., but he does a double take This girl is beautiful. She has long, golden hair that falls her her waist. It is thick and straight and frames her cherry cheeks perfectly. Her eyes are a bright blue and her nose is the kind that turns up in a cute way. Sam begins to sweat.

"Uh, hi," he says lamely.

"Here on business?" she asks, inclining her head toward the open file.

Sam hurriedly closes it. "No- I mean, yeah. It's...complicated." He's off his game. This girl startled him and now he doesn't know how to act. He takes a deep breath. "Yes, I am here for work."

"You a cop?" The girl takes a sip of her beer, her pink lip gloss leaves marks on the bottle.

He answers a moment too late. "Something like that," he says.

The girl gives him a curious look, but says nothing. She sips her beer again.

Sam clears his throat. He is acutely aware of every movement this girl makes. It's been a while since he's felt this kind of attraction before and it scares him. He checks his phone and looks around. Dean is supposed to meet him there in a half hour.

"Waiting for someone?" the girl asks. She is tilting her head toward him.

Sam snorts softly. "My brother," he says.

The girl smiles, catlike and predatory. "Looks like you've got some time to kill."

Her intent is so obvious Sam chokes on his beer. "Look, I'm flattered…" Sam tries. "But…"

"What's the problem?" she asks. "You have a girl back home?"

"No," Sam says. "It's not that."

The girl props her chin on her hand and gives him a sultry gaze. "Well, then," she says. "There's no problem at all."

Sam pulls on the dangling cord to switch on the light of the utility closet as the girl pushes him inside. It is cramped and dark, with cleaning supplies and a mop in the corner. The girl's mouth is sweet and urgent, her tongue flicking around inside his mouth, tasting him. He grips the back of her head and holds her to him, enjoying the feel of her hard body and soft hair. They pull at each other's clothes, and soon they are writhing together under the dim yellow light, their moans muffled by each other's mouths.

When they are finished, the girl stands and begins putting on her clothes. Sam grabs her hand and pulls her to him.

"That was amazing," he says, kissing her. His lips are swollen but he still wants more.

"It really was," she agrees.

Sam begins to laugh. The girl looks at him curiously. "I don't even know your name," he says.

The girl's cat-like grin is back. "It's Penelope."

"Penelope," he says her name like he is tasting it. "I'm Sam," he says, holding out his hand mockingly.

She shakes it and laughs. "Nice to meet you, Sam." The handshake ends in another languid kiss that is only

interrupted when Sam's phone starts ringing.

"It's my brother," Sam says, looking at the phone's caller ID.

"Right on time," Penelope says. She resumes dressing as Sam answers the phone call.

"Yeah," Sam says into the phone. "Yeah, I'm here. Just give me a minute." There is a pause. "No Dean, I didn't forget. Yes. _Yes_. Alright, bye."

Penelope has her back to Sam now and she is pulling on her black slinky tank top when she freezes. She spins around, her face scared. "Dean?" she asks, her eyes wide.

Sam looks up. He is putting his phone back in his pocket and buckling his belt. "Huh?"

Penelope's face is completely changed. Gone is the mischievous cat like smile. In its place is a look so terrified, Sam takes a step back.

"Your brother's name is Dean?"

Sam narrows his eyes. "Yes," he says carefully.

"Sam and Dean…" Penelope says, her eyes wide. "Winchester?"

Sam doesn't answer, but Penelope sees the surprise on his face. That's confirmation enough. She grabs her jacket and runs.

Sam tugs on his shirt and goes after her, but by the time he comes back out to the bar, she's nowhere in sight.

Sam looks around a little more, his head still reeling from the mind blowing sex, not to mention her abrupt exit. She looked so frightened. And she knew who he was.

Dean sits at the bar next to Sam's abandoned paperwork. He looks up as Sam approaches. "You look like you've just been somewhere dirty," Dean says, a saucy smile on his face.

Sam grunts. "Did you see a girl run out of here? Blonde, pretty? Scared."

"Geez, Sammy. It was that bad that she ran away screaming?"

"I'm serious, Dean," Sam says. "Did you see where she went?"

Dean frowns. "I didn't see anyone."

Sam looks around again. He is severely disturbed.

"What happened?" Dean demands, all business now.

"I was with this girl and when she found out we were Winchesters, she bolted out of here like the devil was after her. What I can't figure out is how she knows us. I've never seen her before. And what reason does she have to be afraid of us? The only things that should be afraid of us are…"

"Demons," Dean finishes.

Sam's face goes white.

Dean laughs. "Oh Sammy, again?"

Sam glares. "Shut up, Dean. This isn't funny. We gotta find her."

Dean ignores him. "You sure do have a type, don't you Sam?" He takes a drink of Sam's discarded beer. "Wearwolf, demon, I kind of hope this one's something different so we can add her to your collection."

Sam is visibly angry, but he lets it go. "Did you find anything?" he asks, changing the subject.

Dean laughs and shakes his head as if to clear it. "Here," he tosses some survelilience photos on to the bar top. "She was spotted last night at a bar called The Three Monkeys."

Sam picks up the gritty black and white photos and recognizes the missing woman. "So, what?" Sam asks. "Demon possession? Or something else."

Dean shakes his head. "Let's go find out. She supposed to be there agian tonight. Some kind of karaoke contest."

"Karaoke," Sam snorts. "Demons and Karaoke.." Suddenly Sam freezes as he spies something in the photo he hadn't seen before. Another woman is in the shot. She stands just behind the missing girl, and she is holding a knife in her hand, just barely visible in the grainy picture.

"Dean!" Sam nearly shouts. "That's her! That's the girl. Penelope."

Dean studies the photo. "Well, at least she's hot," is his response.

Sam ignores him. His stomach is sinking. Could this girl really have been a demon? If so, that meant he had to kill her. That thought sends an iron spike through his stomach. He grits his teeth.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Sam and Dean enter the Three Monkeys later that night. It's a dimly lit bar that is crowded and loud. A girl is standing on a small stage singing loud karaoke, her voice lost in the noise of the bar.

"Not really our kind of scene, eh Sammy?" Dean shouts over the noise.

Sam gives a distracted nod. "Let's split up," he says. "See if either of them are in here."

Dean heads to the right of the bar as Sam goes left. Sam searches frantically. Dean gets a drink.

"Jack, neat," he tells the bartender. With his elbow perched on the bar lip, he glances around. He doesn't want the demon to be alerted to their presence so its best to play it cool. Blend in.

He snorts.

Fat chance in this crowd. A group of women all in pink let out a collective squeal as one of their friends takes the stage. Dean shakes his head and sips his drink. He hates places like this.

To his right, a woman approaches the bar. He is vaguely aware of her presence as she orders a vodka water and sits two stools away. There are three girls between the two of them, calling to the bartender for more sweet cocktails and shots named after deserts. Dean snorts again as a girl calls for a slippery nipple.

"Now there's a visual," he says out loud to himself.

As the girls move away after receiving their drinks, Dean notices the woman again. She takes a sizable swallow of her drink before setting it down and turning the glass absently. He watches her hands and even in the dim lighting he sees that her right fist is wrapped in tape, like a boxer. He looks at the rest of her. With what little he can see of her face, he decides that she's pretty. Her hair is long and dark, with thick bangs that frame her face. She is wearing black pants, a black shirt and a black leather jacket. It sets her apart from all the brightly colored females in the bar. Fully interested now, Dean scoots down two seats until he is beside her.

"Hi," he says, his smile in place.

The girl looks up and Dean's smile grows. Her face is even prettier up close. Her eyes are dark and severe, and her nose turns up at the end in a cute way. But the look she is giving him is less than welcoming.

"No," she says.

"No?" Dean is taken aback. He's not used to women turning him down.

"No, I don't need a drink. No, I don't want to dance. No, I'm not interested."

Dean frowns. "Wow," he says. "You really know how to turn a guy down."

She gives him a tight smile and turns back to her drink.

Dean sips his whiskey. He's not sure what to do. Women usually don't give him the cold shoulder like this, and if they do, a casual pick up line usually does the trick. But looking at this girl, he somehow knows his old antics won't work on her.

"I'm Dean," he tries again, feeling silly shouting over the loud bar.

The girl sighs. "I'm not trying to be mean, here. But I'm really not interested in some drooling imbecile fawning over me tonight."

Dean cracks a smile at that. "You seem pretty sure of yourself. I could have just been asking you for the time."

She points to his watch. "I don't think so."

"Maybe I'm just looking for a friend."

She outright laughs at that. "Friend? Like, I haven't heard that one before." She actually looks at him now. Gives him a once over, her eyes narrow appreciatively. "A guy like you? You'd think you'd've come up with something a little more original." She sips at her drink.

Dean grins. "Well in the presence of such a pretty girl, how can you expect a guy to think?"

The girl gives him an "are you serious?" look and shakes her head. Dean laughs.

"Come on. I really am new in town. I don't know many people. I'm just looking for a little company."

The girl looks at him again, gives him another once over before closing her eyes in resolution. "Fine. My name is Katerina. What do you do for living, Dean?"

Dean's smile gets even wider. "I'm a cop," he says. "FBI, actually." He is confident now. The whole FBI stunt usually works like a charm.

Katerina narrows her eyes in disbelief.

"What do you do?" Dean asks before she can question him. Keep her talking, he thinks.

"I'm a stripper," she says flatly.

Dean's eyebrows shoot up. "Is that right?" He can't help the grin spreading over his face.

Katerina rolls her eyes in disgust. "There are two reactions I get from men when I tell them that. The first reaction is discomfort and unease, as if I'm damaged goods. The second is what you just did. I can't decide which is worse." She downs the last of her drink and motions to the bartender for another.

Dean bites his tongue. It doesn't seem like he can win with this girl, but that only makes him want her more. Dimly he remembers that he is supposed to be looking for a demon, but he can't get himself to focus on anything but her.

"What I can't figure out," he says, "is why a girl not interested in having an imbecile drooling over her would come to a place like this. It can't be for the vocal stylings of college chicks."

Katerina snorts. "Maybe I have a thing for loud renditions of Shania Twain."

Dean smiles, triumphant that he got her to laugh. Well at least a partial laugh. He opens his mouth with some charming retort, but just then a car drives by and flashes its headlights into the bar, briefly lighting up her face. He didn't see it before, it was too dark. But in that sudden beam of light Dean can make out bruises on her cheek and around her right eye. His blood runs cold. Without thinking, he reaches out and grips her under the chin. "What happened to your face?" he growls.

The girl's eyes widen and she jerks away. "Hey!" she snaps. "Lay off,"

Dean lets go and puts his hands in the air as if to say 'I surrender.' "I'm sorry, " he says. "But if someone is hurting you, I can help."

Katerina grumbles and digs in her purse. "Great, that's just what I need. A freaking cop trying to save me…" She tossed a twenty on the bar and stands up to leave.

Dean grabs her arm to stop her. "Look, I'm sorry. Don't go."

Katerina shakes her head. "You don't want to get involved."

"Try me," Dean growls back.

She jerks her arm out of his grasp. "I- " She stops mid thought. Her mouth opens slightly and her eyes follow something across the room. "I'll be right back," she says distractedly. And like that, she is gone.

Dean looks behind him, searching for whatever it was that caught her eye. Then he looks for her.

"Damn it." He watches her storm through the bar, her gait focussed and angry. What is she after?

Dean stands up and follows her out the back door. Something about her just isn't right...

0

0

Dean has seen a lot of strange things in his life, but he never expects what he sees when he walks out of the back door of the bar and into a deserted alley.

Katerina and another woman are engaged in a full out battle. And not the kind of hair pulling, nail scratching cat fight he expects. No, Katerina is fighting like a ninja. She roundhouse kicks the other woman in the side, knocking her onto her back, but before Katerina can pounce again, the other woman is back on her feet and ducking out of the way. Katerina attacks again. She is holding two identical silver knives that she flips around from dagger to stabber as she swipes at the other woman's face. The woman lets out a scream as the silver scraps her skin and Dean hears Katerina's satisfied snicker.

The other woman throws her head back. Her back is to Dean so he can't make out her face, but he's been a hunter long enough to know that this is no ordinary woman. Judging by her clawed hands and loud screeching, hed say she is a harpy. She darts forward with a preternatural speed, seeming to actually fly through the air. Katerina falls back under the woman's attack and is slammed to the ground. She doesn't stay there for long, however. Already her knifed hand is piercing the woman's ribs. The woman rolls away and Katerina is back on her feet.

The two women face off once more.

"I told you not to come back here," Dean hears Katerina say. Her voice is cold. Menacing.

"I'm not afraid of you," the woman says back, her voice dripping with venom.

They begin circling each other.

Katerina lets out a low chuckle. "Amanda wasn't afraid of me either," she says. "And look what it got her. A shallow grave on the side of the highway."

The other woman shrieks and attacks again. Katerina spins out of the way and the woman goes flying past. Katerina turns just in time and grabs a handful of the woman's hair. Her head snaps back, revealing her naked throat and Katerina plunges her knife in.

The woman twists away at the last minute sending Katerina's knife flying. A clawed hand snakes out and narrowly misses Katerina's face as she backflips to avoid it. When she lands she sends her other knife flying and it nails the woman right in the chest, thus ending the battle.

Katerina stands over her fallen victim, panting slightly. She squats down and rifles through the dead girl's jacket. Dean chooses that moment to make his presence known.

He steps out of his hiding place in the shadows and starts clapping. Katerina's head snaps up.

"Very impressive," he says.

Katerina stands warily. "Who are you?" she asks, voice low.

Dean laughs. "I think the real question here is, who are you?"

Katerina doesn't hesitate, she darts away. She is fast, but Dean is faster. He's on her before she can get ten feet away. He grabs her by the collar of her leather jacket and spins her toward the wall. Before he can pin her, she brings her elbow up and nails him in the nose. Not wasting any time, she lifts her leg for a hard kick to the groin. Thankfully, she misses, but that doesn't mean Dean's thigh isn't blazing in pain. He doubles over and she wriggles free. He runs after her again, this time throwing his whole weight against her, finally pinning her to the wall.

"Who are you?" he says again. "Huh?"

Katerina stops struggling. His face is inches from hers. She clenches her teeth.

Before he can ask her again, a boot slams into his side, sending him toppling over. He looks up and sees a blond helping Katerina off the ground where she has fallen. Together they begin to run away.

Taking out his gun, Dean points it at their backs and cocks it audibly. "Take one more step and I blow your friggin' brains out." He's bluffing of course, but they don't know that.

They stop, and turn around stiffly.

Dean dabs at his bloodied nose as he stands. "You got me pretty good there, princess," he says. "And you," he says to the blond. "Those heels could kill."

"What do you want?" Katerina says. Her lip is bleeding and Dean suddenly realizes where she must have gotten those bruises.

"I just want to talk," he says.

Katerina glares as the other girl freezes. She's spotted something behind Dean's back. Whatever it is, it's got her scared.

"Dean!" It's Sam's voice. "What the-"

"Over here, Sam," Dean shouts back.

He keeps his eyes on the two girls as he hears Sam's footsteps get closer...and then falter.

Katerina looks back and forth between the two brothers. "Sam….and Dean?" Surprise lights her features. She looks to the blond girl who doesn't share her shock. Her eyes snap back at the boys. "Winchester?"

"You know us?" Dean growls.

The shock leaves Katerina's face and is quickly replaced by anger again. "Who doesn't?" she almost yells. "You're the idiots that opened the gates of hell and let out thousands of demons. You two started the freaking apocalypse-  
"Kat…" the blond says warningly.

"Then your angel friend closed the doors of heaven, leaving thousands of souls trapped in limbo-"

"Kat!" the blonde girl says again, stronger this time.

"No, Penelope! You know what they've done! How many of these guys's messes have we cleaned up? How many friends have we lost?" She turned to Sam and Dean again. "Ellen, Jo, Bobby, Tara, Rufus, John-"

"John?" Dean asks. Katerina doesn't hear.

"I could go on forever. And you two have the nerve to come into our city and start demanding answers? I don't think so. You two are going to leave. Now. And never come back. St. Louis is protected. You two should keep to your dinky backwoods towns and leave this city to us!"

Penelope begins pulling Kat away. She sends an apologetic look toward Sam who has stopped moving and looks on in horror. Dean glares back at Katerina with as much furiosity as she is sending toward him. Finally Penelope manages to lead the still yelling Katerina away, leaving the two brothers alone in the alley with a dead harpy.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Sam and Dean are back in their motel room. Sam is on the phone as Dean sits at the table nursing a glass of whiskey.

"Hey, Garth," Sam says into the cell phone. He is pacing the room, nervous anxiety steaming off of him. "It's Sam …..No, we're fine….Ha, yeah you're tellin' me…...Listen, the reason I'm calling...Have you ever heard of any hunters by the name of Penelope and Katerina?...You have?...Well how-...Really…...huh…..Okay, well thanks…..No, no!...nothing's the matter...We just met them is all…..Yeah….Okay, man...Bye."

Sam clicks off his phone and turns to face his brother. "Well they're hunters alright."

Dean grunts and takes another sip of whiskey.

"They are sisters, last name Drake. Apparently they've been hunters about as long as we have."

Dean frowns. "How'd we never meet them before?" he asks.

"Well according to Garth, they don't really ever leave St. Louis. They only leave for special cases. Anyway, Dad knew them, and Bobby. They used to hang around with Jo a lot."

"Which explains why they don't like us very much."

Sam looks away, his expression pained. "Look, maybe they're right. Maybe we should just leave. It looks like they've got things under control. And if you don't remember, Dean, you're still wanted for murder here."

"Ha, they aren't looking for a dead man," Dean reminds him.

"Even so," Sam continues. "We have no reason to stay. It looks like the sisters are tracking the same case

we are. Why not just leave them to it?"

Dean grunts. "I guess you're right. There's no reason to stay here."

Sam huffs out a sigh and collapses in an armchair. Instead of looking relieved, he looks troubled.

Dean finishes his drink and checks his watch. "It's quarter to one now, We'll head out in the morning. For now, I'm gonna hit the hay."

Sam nods absently as Dean kicks off his boots and spreads out on the bed.

…

Sam and Dean awake to the sound of rapid knocking. Pounding. On their motel room door. Dean launches himself out of bed, clutching the knife he sleeps with under his pillow. Sam switches on the lamp and stares at the door. He glances at the clock: 3:45. Who in the world would be knocking on their door this time of night?

Sam reaches onto the bedside table for his gun. He nods to Dean and together they move toward the door. Dean peers through the peephole then looks round at Sam in surprise. Sam frowns and before he can ask, Dean wrenches the door open. In the harsh yellow light that frames the doorway the boys find a very different looking Penelope Drake.

She is hunched over, using the doorway as support. Her hair is mussed and the makeup that seemed so artfully applied earlier in the evening is now smudged and running down her face. Blood coats one side of her face making a trail from her temple to her chin, like something smashed her in the head. She is breathing heavily and clutching her arm.

"I need your help," she says without preamble and brushes past them into the motel room.

Dean closes the door and turns back to face the strange guest. "I'll say. What the hell happened to you?"

Penelope collapses on the nearest bed and begins tugging off her torn leather jacket. Once its off a large gash is apparent on her right shoulder. She hisses as she examines it.

Sam, who until this point is staring at her wordlessly, comes to his senses and goes in search of their first aid kit. Unfortunately the Winchester first aid kit is nothing more than a needle and thread, a bottle of whiskey and a few bandages. Nevertheless, he sits down next to her and begins examining the gash. It's deep, but thankfully just a flesh wound. "What happened?" he asks, repeating Dean's question.

Dean hasn't moved from his place by the door, but watches Penelope closely.

"We were attacked," Penelope snarls, as if its the most obvious thing in the world.

"No shit," barks Dean. "By what?"

"The Redcaps," Penelope responds. Her hands are shaking.

Sam and Dean look at each other but neither shows any recognition.

"Come again?" Dean asks.

Penelope hisses as Sam begins cleaning her wound with a whiskey soaked rag. "Don't tell me the Winchesters have never faced the Redcaps."

Dean glares. He doesn't like his hunting career being diminished like that.

"Redcaps are an ancient people," Penelope explains. "They are mostly male and feed on the blood of human women. They are a bit like vampires, only much much worse. And much harder to kill. They travel in packs and their hierarchy is complicated. A few years ago Kat killed one of their...leaders." At this Penelope bites her lip, as if she wants to say more. She shakes her head and continues. "And I guess they want revenge because they came for her tonight."

Sam and Dean look at each other and then Sam turns back to dressing Penelope's wound. He takes out a needle and thread and begins sterilizing the tip with a lighter.

"So, is Kat dead?" Dean asks bluntly.

"Of course not," Penelope snarls in response to the ludicrous question and also in response to the biting pain of the needle tugging her skin back together. "They took her. They will keep her alive for a while. Playing with her."

Sam feels a sickening twist in his stomach. The way Penelope says it, she doesn't just mean they are going to take turns feeding on her and leave her alone. No, it was going to be much worse.

Sensing the same thing, Dean freezes. "Do you know where they took her?"

Penelope is biting her lip against the pain of her shoulder but she manages to nod. "But I can't face them alone. They nearly killed me tonight. I only just got away."

"How do you kill these...Redcaps?"

"Sssssss…" Penelope hisses as Sam pours a generous dose of whiskey over her shoulder.

"Sorry...:" Sam mutters.

"You have to use an enchanted silver stake," Penelope manages. "You can't behead them or set them on fire like most things. Their bodies grow back. It has to be a pure silver stake that's been infused with all four elements."

"All four elements?" Sam asks. "You mean, Earth, water, air and fire?"

Penelope nods. "Kat and I had two enchanted stakes but the Redcaps took them tonight."

"How do we get another one?" Dean asks.

Penelope sighs. "It's not easy. This kind of spell isn't just saying a few lines in latin and burning some twigs. This is real magic and can only be done by four separate druid priestesses on a full moon. Kat and I had to go to England to get them. They aren't easy to come by."

"So basically we're screwed," Dean says bluntly.

Penelope shakes her head. "Redcaps can't touch them. Tonight they had two human slaves carry them. I'm betting the humans are ordered to guard them. If we can just get ahold of the slaves we can get ahold of the stakes. But the slaves are going to be well protected."

"You still haven't told us where these Redcaps are holed up," Sam says as he begins bandaging her arm.

"Holed up isn't exactly how I would put it," Penelope says. "They can't enter homes without being invited, so they usually inhabit hotels, hostels, stuff like that. You know, preying on travelers. But they like extravagance. Right now they are gathered in a hotel in the Central West End. Chase Park Plaza. I tracked them there after they took Kat, but I knew I couldn't go in alone. Not like this," she says gesturing to her wounds. "And without backup, I wouldn't last. That's why I'm here."

She stands up now that Sam has finished his doctoring. She looks at the brothers now, her brow furrowed in intensity. "Look, I know that you guys don't owe us anything.. And after the way Kat treated you tonight I really don't expect you to give a damn whether she lives or dies...but if the stories about you are true, you'd never let a group of evil beings kill an innocent girl."

Dean snorted at the word 'innocent.' Penelope shot him a glare but otherwise continued as if she hadn't heard. "I'm not crazy about it either. Kat was right earlier. Hunters who work with you somehow always end up dead. But Kat's dead tonight whether you help or not. The least we can do is try, right?"

Sam stands up as well. "Of course we'll help." He looks at Dean who shrugs.

"Hell, I don't want to give up the chance to bring down a group of vampire rapists. Sounds like a party."

Penelope looks relieved but sighs. "It's not gonna be a party. Until we get the stakes we are basically helpless."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Dean says, already reaching into his duffel bag. He pulls out an oddly shaped object and holds it up. Penelope hears Sam's almost inaudible groan and she examines the weapon Dean holds before him. It appears to be a knife that is curved slightly along its serrated edge. "Are those...teeth?" Penelope asks as she takes in the discolored bone.

Dean grins and something about the glint in his eye makes Penelope's skin prickle in a fresh wave of goosebumps.

"Dean, I don't know if that's a good idea," Sam says carefully.

"What other choice do we have?" Dean answers. "If anything's gonna kill these Redcaps, this thing will."

"What is it?" Penelope asks, her heart in her throat.

"The first blade," Dean croons.

…

Kat wakes up to pain.

It is the first thing she becomes aware of. A great gnawing pain on her right side where her neck and her shoulder meet. It starts like a dull ache that permeates her foggy mind. But the closer she comes to the brim of consciousness, the sharper the pain becomes, until it is unbearable. Her head is sore and full of fog, her brain moving slowly. She wishes the pain would stop so she could go back to sleep.

Slowly she opens her eyes and looks around. She is in a dimly lit room laying face up on a bed. Her head is cushioned against a soft pillow and if it weren't for the pain in her neck she would be very comfortable. That pain, it just keeps coming. She tries to move and the pain becomes stronger. She turns her head to the right very slightly and then she screams.

Next to her, attached to her, is the bobbing head of a man. His long fingers grip her arm to hold her steady as his fangs bite into her neck, sucking away at drizzling blood. Finding some strength Kat pulls away sharply and the man detaches his mouth from her wound and hisses at her, his teeth slick with her blood in an animalistic snarl. Kat's heart pounds in fear. Where is she?

Then she remembers. The loud crashing of her door as it was blown apart by a human slave who could enter her and Penny's apartment. The sickening crack that her head made when it was slammed against the wall. Penelope fighting like a hyena. That's the last thing she can remember. Penny, covered in blood and fighting. Did she make it out? Kat doesn't know.

She glares at her assailant. She recognizes him.

"Randall," she growls.

He giggles and bounces up and down on the bed, his gleeful mouth still caked in red.

"That's enough, Randall," a familiar voice drawls from the doorway. Kat looks up and sees a dark silhouette leaning casually against the door frame. His limbs are long and elegant, his clothing fitting perfectly to his well maintained body. At first glance, the man in the doorway is beautiful. At least that's what his victims think of him, right before he tears them apart. But Kat knows that beyond that beautiful stare lies a monster unlike any she's ever met. And she's met plenty.

Randall immediately quiets and retreats as if the man had shouted. He scurries out of the room, only glancing back once at Kat before exiting the doorway, leaving Kat and the man alone.

"Katerina," the man says her name like a lover, a sighing whisper that is meant to entice her. Instead it makes her skin crawl.

"Salvador," Kat responds, her voice clipped. She needs to find a way out of here. The last time she saw Salvador he'd vowed to find her and kill her. She'd laughed in his face at the time. She doesn't feel like laughing now.

Salvador slinks forward, his face illuminated by the dim lamplight. It is just as beautiful as she remembers. She suppresses a shiver.

"I've been looking for you," he croons.

Kat slowly stands up, fighting the nausea inducing pain in her head from both the terrible blow she suffered earlier and the blood loss. She struggles to focus on the man before her. The man who took everything from her. The man that ruined her life. The man who wants to kill her.

"Well," she says, a smile tugging at her lips. "You found me."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Penelope sits in the passenger seat of the Impala as it makes its way down Lindell Blvd. Dean is driving while Sam rides in the back, his hands gripping and re-gripping Ruby's knife. He doesn't know if it will work against these Redcaps, but like Dean's first blade, there is a pretty good chance it will do some damage.

Penelope's eyes are on the tall building ahead of them. Built in the '20s, the Chase Park Plaza stands on the corner of a busy strip. People are out for the evening, going in and out of the classic style building.

"Stop," she tells Dean as they pass a large grey stone house. "This is it."

Dean doesn't question her. He pulls to the curb and the three of them sit in the Impala watching the hotel that suddenly seems menacing.

"So here's the plan," Penelope says. "There are probably lookouts in the lobby so we go in the side door. It will probably be guarded by several 'caps, but hopefully your knives can take them out, or at least incapacitate them for a while. We need to figure out what floor the 'caps are one. We'll torture it out of one of the guards if we have to, but I'm hoping one of them will just have a key card on them. Once we find the floor, we'll find the humans and get our stakes back. THEN, we search for Kat. Understand? There's no sense finding Kat if we end up getting captured too. We need those stakes."

Dean is examining his first blade and grunts in response. He doesn't think those stakes will be as essential as Penelope is letting on. But then, she's never seen the first blade in action. Or him in action with it. He can't help the bloodthirsty grin that spreads over his face. He glances up to see Penny and Sam watching him, both looking disturbed.

"Alright," he agrees. "Let's go."

Together the three exit the car. They creep around the side of the building and hop the security fence surrounding the hotel. Almost as soon as their feet hit the ground are they attacked by Redcap guards. The first one comes at Dean, his teeth bared. Dean's knife whips out smoothly, slicing the redcaps' throat before plunging into his chest. Sam takes down the next one, Ruby's blade feeling like an extension of his arm, he's used it so much. Penelope watches this swift assault with appreciation.

"Well at least some of the stories are true," she mutters to herself.

Dean bends over and picks up a red cowboy hat that had flipped off his attacker's head. He cocks an eyebrow. "Redcaps, huh? They take this seriously, don't they?"

Penelope grimaces. "They dye their hats red with the blood of their victims. It's a creepy ritual thing...:"

Dean promptly drops the hat and rubs his fingers on his jeans. "Thanks for the heads up," he grunts.

Penelope ignores him and gives the Redcap a soft kick. He doesn't stir. She looks back at Dean's knife with new appreciation. If that knife were just any ordinary knife, these redcaps would be stirring already, their bodies healed that quickly. She glances at the redcap Sam took down and notices he isn't moving either. Maybe these boys aren't exactly bad to have around. She doesn't say that out loud though.

Instead she begins searching the caps' pockets.

"Got it," she says, straightening up. She is holding a plastic key card that is enclosed in a paper sleeve with "403" written on it. "Fourth Floor."

They enter the back staircase and jog up the four flights of stairs and stop outside a black door with a large 4 painted in silver paint. When Penelope slowly turns the handle and opens the door, the three of them file in silently. She makes Dean go first, now knowing that knife is pretty useful. Besides, she doesn't want to be attacked first. Better to have a human shield in front of her, she thinks coldly.

Inside they enter an empty hallway that is enclosed and darkened. She can already tell this is the floor. Through the doors they can hear movement and voices, but nothing in alarm. Their presence is still unnoticed. They head down a hallway to the right and almost run right into a woman tucking towels away in a housekeeping cartt. It's a remarkably normal thing to be doing and Penelope almost hesitates, thinking for a second that she must be a regular hotel maid.

Then she notices the bite marks on the woman's neck. Penelope attacks the woman, tackling her and pinning her to the ground, a knee to the sternum and her hand held securely over the woman's mouth.

"Where are the stakes?" Penny demands, her voice barely a whispered hiss.

The terrified woman looks up in fear and shakes her head.

"Where are they?!" Penelope hisses again, this time applying more pressure to the woman's chest. Dean watches with calm delight and Sam looks troubled.

The woman's eyes are leaking tears and finally she nods in defeat. Penelope removes her hand and the woman whispers "In the safe." She gestures with her head down the hall. "In his room. 401, behind the portrait of the man and the dog." She gives them her key card.

"What's the combination?"

The woman grimaces as if she thought they would forget to ask her that. "Fourteen, Seven, Twenty-two."

Penelope continues to straddle the woman but looks up and nods at Sam who takes off down the hall. Shortly after he enters the room, the muffled sounds of a struggle are heard. Before Penelope can be alarmed however, Sam emerges from the room with two silver stakes in his hands. Penelope nods again in appreciation. She is starting to really respect these boys. She quickly applies pressure to the woman's neck, just enough to knock her unconscious, before getting to her feet. Together, she and Dean stuff the woman into the broom closet. They don't need her alerting the redcaps of their arrival.

"Alright," Penelope whispers once they have the woman wedged in the tiny space. "Let's find Kat."

Sam hands her one of the silver stakes. It is an odd looking weapon. Its tarnished silver is molded in a spiraling point, resembling something like a unicorn horn. The handle is elaborate with carvings and symbols neither of the Winchesters recognize. Somehow it seems to glow in the dim hallway as if the magic is radiating from it, it's power casting an actual light.

Penelope grips her stake and let's Sam keep hold of the other.

"We should split up," Dean says. "Katerina could be anywhere."

Penelope shakes her head. "No, we should stick together. Trust me. When we encounter Salvador, we are going to need all three of us."

Dean snorts. "Salvador?" But otherwise he makes no complaint. This is her show and he knows it.

The hallway is empty but voices can be heard inside each of the bedrooms. Crooning voices and muffled crying. Kat isn't the only prisoner here.

Penelope creeps along, listening intently. She will know Kat's prison when she gets to it. She holds her breath as she halts outside a large door, but there's no need to be quiet. The noises coming from that room are unmistakable. Someone is fighting back.

Penelope sends a glance to the Winchesters, just enough of a warning for them to understand that this is it, before kicking in the door. She enters the bedroom followed closely by Sam and Dean. The scene before them is chaos.

Kat and Salvador are engaged in a full out battle. Kat is bleeding heavily from the wound in her neck, but Salvador looks to be struggling also. Despite the fact that Kat is weaponless, she's managed to hold her own against the monster. Kat delivers a swift kick to Salvador's chest just as the trio enters. She looks up in plain relief when she see Penelope.

Penny enters the fray quickly, pinning down the snarling Salvador while Sam moves to strike with the silver stake. It all happens quickly. Salvador lays unmoving on the ground, his blood staining the stark white carpet.

Kat is breathing heavily. She stumbles and falls her her knees once she realizes Salvador is no longer a threat. Penny goes to her.

"Are you okay?" she murmurs. Kat nods, but it's clear she's weak from the blood loss.

Sam and Dean look around nervously. "We've gotta move," Sam says.

"Hold on there, Sammy," Dean says quietly. He is watching Kat and Penny with wary eyes. "I don't think Kat's in such good shape.'

It's then that Kat realizes who Penny came with. She looks at her sister, clearly alarmed. "What are they doing here?"

Penny rolls her eyes. "Well I couldn't just leave you here, could I?"

"Penny-"

"Save it," Penny cuts her off. "Dean's right. You've lost a lot of blood. We need to get you out of here."

"This place is crawling with redcaps," Kat says. clutching her neck to stem the flow of blood leaking from her neck.

"We'll take care of it," Dean says, gripping the first blade tightly, almost lovingly.

Kat's eyes follow the movement and her eyes widen as she spies the blade.

"You two lead the way out of here," Penelope says, taking charge. "The goal is to get Kat out. Don't go on some insane killing spree. There will be time for that later. For now we need to get her to safety. Dean!"

Dean doesn't appear to be listening. He is peering out the door into the hallway. His head snaps around at her shouting his name.

"Seriously!" Penelope goes on. "Don't get us killed!"

Sam flinches at her words, but nods assuringly. Dean just looks annoyed.

Putting her arm under her sister, Penelope stands and follows the two brothers out into the hallways. They make it to the steps before all hell breaks lose.

Two men wearing red Cardinals baseball caps come running up the stairs, shouting loudly as they approach. "Intruders!" one shouts before aiming a punch at Dean's head. The other goes for Sam, but the girls are not forgotten. Three more redcaps come barreling out of locked bedrooms, their eyes angry and ready to kill. Penelope is forced to drop Kat's weak body to defend them both. Kat manages to stand and ward off the blows of an attacking redcap. Penelope stabs and strikes with her enchanted stake and soon takes out two redcaps. Sam and Dean are holding their own as well.

Somehow they manage to free themselves long enough for the group to descend the staircase where they are met with an even larger resistance party. Things are getting heated and confusing. The group is backed against a wall with redcaps on every side. Even Dean and his magnificent blade are slowing. There are just too many of them and Kat is fading quickly.

When the group is completely surrounded, a smooth voice calls the redcaps to a halt. It's instantaneous. One second the caps are rearing their angry faces, fangs gnashing and the next they are all standing still and silent, awaiting instructions from an unseen master. Through the parting crowd a woman steps forward.

She is unlike any woman either Sam or Dean has ever seen before. She is a small woman in height and stature, but her presence demands respect. She is olive skinned and stunningly beautiful, with honey colored hair that falls to her waist and large dark eyes. Her head is covered with a wide brim hat, a deep blood-red color. Remembering that Penny said the hats were dyed in blood makes Sam's skin crawl.

"Well, well," the mysterious woman says. "Winchesters at last." She purses her lips and studies them. "I'd been wondering when you two would come my way. We've done such a good job at staying off your radar...it's a shame to kill you now. You're antics are legend, after all. And Crowley is most fond of you. Especially the pretty one...Dean is it?" She begins to circle them. "But oh, you're here with two of my most hated enemies. Katerina and Penelope…" She sighs and shakes her head as if to a naughty child. "Katerina killed someone very important to me once. And oh, she will pay for that. Where is Salvador?" She looks around the group, as if Salvador would step forward.

Kat laughs out loud. "He's dead, Morgan! Dead and rotting upstairs. I killed him, just like I killed your precious Christophe. You made a mistake bringing me here." Despite their predicament, Kat sounds completely at ease, confident.

The woman Morgan's eyes flare in fury. She glares around. "Is this true?" she asks her minions. "Is Salvador dead?"

A strange hunch backed figure steps forward, his face a mask of anguish. "It is, your grace. I saw his death myself."

"And you did nothing?" Morgan lashes out and strikes the man across the face. "Salvador was your sire, Randall. He gave you everything! Kept you alive when others might have killed you for your inadequacy. You fool!"

"I tried, your grace," Randalls says, cowering at the woman's feet. "The Winchesters, they overpowered me-"

"Don't feed me your excuses!" shrieks Morgan. "Clark, Butcher!" Two men step forward. "Take him out back and cut off his head. Bury it out in the desert a good thousand feet away from his body!"

The two redcaps move to obey and Randall is dragged away, crying loudly.

"Now," Morgan says, addressing Sam and Dean and the Drake sisters again. "What to do with you?"

"As entertaining as this has all been," Dean says snidely. "I'm getting a little tired of your hissy fits. Why don't you make your move so I can make mine."

Morgan looks amused. "Dean Winchester. The chosen one. The one marked by Cain himself. You walk a fine line between good and evil, and it's only a matter of time before you join us. Why not now? I could give you powers you've never dreamed of…" Her voice is pure seduction, silk on water.

"Save it lady," Dean snaps. "I've done the whole vampire thing. It didn't suit me."

Anger flashes across Morgan's face. "Don't compare us to those foul creatures. Vampires are nothing more than animals, slaves to their instincts. We, are artists! Our killings are poetry!"

Dean snorts and Morgan's outrage grows. "I've had enough. Kill the sisters. Bound and gag the Winchesters. I want to play with them later." She waves her hand and the Redcaps surge forward. Sam and Dean spring into action, fighting off as many redcaps as they can. Penelope does her best to support the still bleeding Kat but is knocked hard against the wall. As a cap advances on the struggling Katerina, Dean stabs him from behind. He grabs Katerina around the waist and practically drags her from the hallway and down the stairs, out the front lobb y and to the street.

Meanwhile, Sam runs to where Penelope has fallen. She is unconscious and he lifts her easily, tossing her over his shoulder with a grunt. Being sure to snatch up her fallen stake, he kicks his way through the throng of Redcaps and makes his way to a window. He knocks it open and together he and Penelope tumble out. It's a good two story drop, but Sam does his best to take the brunt of it, cushioning Penelope with his own body. He grabs her up again and sprints with her to the street where the impala waits.

Dean and Katerina are nowhere in sight. Sam dumps Penelope into the passenger seat and glances around wildly. They need to get out of here. The Redcaps are right behind them. He hesitates only a second before jumping in the driver's seat and tearing down the street. He is looping around the neighborhood when his phone rings.

"Dean?" Sam answers. "Where are you?"

Dean's voice is clear on the other end. "I've got Kat and we are holed up in some apartment complex down the street."

"Well, where?" Sam says. "I've got the impala. I'll come to you."

"I wouldn't do that Sammy," Dean says. "There are Redcaps crawling all over the place. It seems they can smell Kat's blood. As soon as I can hotwire a car we're out of here. You got the other one?"

Sam glances at the still unconscious Penelope. "Yeah, I've got her."

"Well take her somewhere safe. We'll try to meet up later."

"Got it," Sam says. "Be careful."

"Always am," Dean answers.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Dean clicks off his phone and looks down at Kat. She is sitting on the floor clutching a dishcloth her neck and it's already sodden with her blood. They broke into a random building and are hiding in the kitchen of a vacant apartment. They are safe for now, as the redcaps can't enter homes without an invitation. But that doesn't mean they can't lie in wait.

"Penny okay?" Kat asks, her breathing labored and her face white.

"Yeah, she's with Sam." Dean says. He watches her worriedly. She's lost a lot of blood and taken a pretty bad beating by the looks of her already bruising right eye. Her hands are both still wrapped in boxer's tape that is completely saturated with dirt and blood. She could use a hospital.

Katerina looks around the small apartment. "I need to wash some of this blood off me," she says. "There's no way we are getting out of here if the Redcaps can just track us."

Dean nods and helps Kat to her feet. She stumbles toward the bathroom and shuts the door. The bleeding in her neck has slowed so she gingerly removes the dishcloth and tosses it in the sink. She turns on the shower and steps in fully clothed. If she wants to get rid of the redcaps, she's got to wash the blood off her clothes too. She stands under the hot water for a few moments, letting the water at her feet turn from bright red to clear. She strips off her clothes, piece by piece, dropping each item on the shower floor before peeling off the tape from her knuckles. She hisses as the hot water hits her swollen hands.

Using whatever soap the current tenant has, she lathers herself up from head to toe, scrubbing away the blood, sweat and grime from the last few hours. She uses as much as possible, to mask her scent. She then goes to work on her clothes, soaping them up and wringing them out. When she is finished, she steps out of the shower and towels off, carefully avoiding the still open wound at her neck. Rooting around in the cabinet, she finds some basic first aid supplies. After bandaging her neck thickly with white gauze pads and tape, she runs a comb through her hair.

Her clothes are soaked and probably still reeking of her blood. She fishes out a trash bag from under the sink and stuffs them in, along with the blood soaked rag and her ruined boots. She'll drop them in a dumpster when they leave.

Wrapping a towel around herself, she walks into the single bedroom. The person who lives here is clearly female, but also clearly a recluse med student. Six pairs of plain white tennis shoes line the closet floor, just below a row of ironed scrubs. Katerina finds a pair of plain black exercise pants in the dresser, along with a grey sports bra and red t-shirt with "WASH U" stamped across it. She finds a black zip up hoodie as well that she slips on over her shivering body. The blood loss is really getting to her, and her head is swimming.

The tennis shoes in the closet are about her size so she chooses a pair. She feels a little guilty stealing this girl's clothes. She can tell their absence will not go unnoticed.

There is a knock at the bedroom door before Dean pushes himself through. "You about ready to get out of here?" he asks. "I think if we leave now we might have a chance."

Kat nods even though she feels as if she could lay on this girl's bed and sleep forever.

"Here," Dean says, handing her a bottle of orange juice. "Found it in the fridge. You should get some sugar back in your bloodstream."

Kat chugs the juice. The sugar gives her a buzz of energy. She is grateful for Dean's help in all this, but somehow she still can't get herself to say thank you. She is wary of him and his brother, after all she's heard about them. But right now, she needs him.

Once she finishes the juice she nods and says, "Let's go."

They take the elevator down to the parking garage. There is a security camera that Dean immediately shoots out. They jack the first car they come to, a Chevy Cruise with a car seat in the back. They leave the garage at a brisk pace, Dean at the wheel. Katerina is clutching her still bleeding neck, struggling to stay awake.

Dean starts heading for the motel he and Sam are in but Kat stops him. "Motels aren't safe. They can enter them. They'll search the entire city. We've got to go somewhere with an address. A house or something."

Dean looks in his rearview. "We've got company."

Dean begins weaving in and out of traffic trying to lose the tail. He gets on the interstate and after a few miles, takes an exit and weaves around a highway till he finds a back road. Once he is sure the tail is gone, he sighs in relief and looks over at Kat. She is looking paler and paler. He needs to get her somewhere so she can rest.

He drives another twenty miles or so looking for something. Finally he finds what he is looking for. He pulls up to an old farm house. It looks abandoned. The lights are out, the grass is overgrown and a long forgotten 'for sale' sign is perched on the front lawn. Whoever lived here is clearly long gone. But it's an address. That's all they need.

They get out of the stolen car and head toward the abandoned building. Dean picks the lock on the front door. It creaks open and they are met with the smell of dust and moth balls. Other than that, it's completely empty. Whoever lived here, packed up in a hurry, leaving several aged pieces of furniture, among them an old couch and a broken table with two chairs.

Dean flips on the light. It flickers from an old naked bulb. Kat flops down on the couch, unable to support herself any longer. It doesn't take long and she is sound asleep. Dean takes the opportunity to scope the place out. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just an old house. He settles in one of the chairs and waits. He wishes he had a six pack to keep him company.

His phone rings.

"Sam, where are you?"

"I'm back at the motel. Where are you?" Sam's voice says from the other end.

"You should leave. Kat says those guys can get to you there. Go to a house or something. Somewhere that has an address."

'Yeah. Yeah, okay."

"How's the little sister?"

"She's still out cold. I think she hit her head pretty hard."

"Well, now's a good time to move her then. Take her to Bobby's old place. I'll meet you there."

After they hung up, Dean starts rummaging around the old house. The sun has risen so he decides to take the car into town to get some food and supplies. He looks at Katerina. It doesn't look like she's waking up any time soon.

…

Sam hangs up the phone and looks down at Penelope. She is lying on the bed, her long blond hair sprawled across the ugly motel comforter. He moves to pick her up, somehow feeling like he is violating her by moving her around so much without her knowledge or permission. She's not going to like waking up in a strange old house, that he knows for certain.

Nevertheless, he places her carefully in the impala and heads out of town.

A few hours on the road later, she starts to stir. She sits up, her hand to her head and looks around. She sees Sam and groans.

"How are you feeling?" he asks her.

"Like I got hit on the head,' she says back.

He chuckles lightly. "Well, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what happened."

"Where are we?"

"Just outside of Sioux Falls."

Penny's eyes widen. "Sioux Falls? Why are we in South Dakota?"

"We just needed to get you away from those Redcaps. They were hunting you and Kat and you weren't exactly in a position to fight."

"Who is 'we?' Where is Kat?"

"She's fine. She's with Dean."

Penelope groans again. "She is going to kill me."

…

Dean peruses the aisles at a grocery store, his shopping basket half full. The town is located just a few miles from the abandoned farm house so it didn't take him long to find a grocery store. He is now trying to pick up some bare necessities until they can head to Bobby's. So far he's got some beer, some chips and dip, two toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste.

Now he's studying a box of protein bars with a picture of a woman jogging on the box. Chick food. Something tells him that Kat won't be satisfied with beer and chips. Especially after losing so much blood. He examines the box before tossing it into his basket along with a bottle of juice that looks a disgusting shade of green, but says is full of electrolytes. When he goes to the cash register he stops in front of the adult magazine rack, and simply out of habit he selects a copy of Busty Asian Beauties. Shaking his head, he puts it back. He's not used to traveling with women.

The cashier is an older woman with two missing front teeth. She grins at him unashamed. "Looks like rain," she says, pointing outside.

Dean nods absently as he thrusts a wad of cash at her before taking his bag of purchases and hurrying back out to the Chevy.

When he gets back to the farmhouse, Kat is still out on the sofa. He starts unpacking the groceries, popping open a beer and slurping some down, careless that it's only ten in the morning. He glances at Kat again. She's very still. Almost too still.

"Kat," he says. His rough voice sounds alien in the quiet house. She doesn't stir. "Kat," he says again, louder this time. She still doesn't move.

He creeps closer to her. She is lying on her back, an arm tossed over her eyes. He tries to see if she is breathing but he can't tell. He leans down to listen.

"AGH!" he stumbles back when he receives a hard punch to the face. Kat is sitting up, her eyes wild.

"What the hell?" Dean mutters.

Katerina is looking around the farm house as if she has no idea where she is. Finally she remembers and relaxes. She looks at Dean, still clutching his throbbing jaw. "Sorry," she says, but she doesn't sound sorry at all. She sounds pleased.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Despite the fact that Bobby's house hasn't been lived in for a while, Sam notes that it's not much worse for wear than it had been when Bobby was alive. There are still piles of books set on dusty shelves, and stacks of old parcels and scrolls littering any available space.

Sam watches Penelope recoil as she tries to clear off a space on the couch to sit down. Her head has a large bruise on it and she is moving around gingerly. Sam knows her injuries, while not life threatening, have to be bothering her. He wishes he would have brought her somewhere a little more comfortable.

As if giving up, she kicks a stack of books off the ancient ottoman and props her feet up. Leaning her head back she looks at Sam. "This place looks about the same as the last time I was here."

Sam frowns. "You've been here?"

"Sure," Penny says. "Everyone's been to Bobby's." She stretches and rubs her bruised head. "Me and Kat used to stop by here on our way to pick up Jo. Geez, I know the man lived alone, but you'd think he could pick up now and then," she says picking up a dirty sock that is draped over the couch arm and tossing it aside.

Sam huffs out a laugh and looks down. A deep sorrow creeps in as he remembers the man. He'd never stop missing him.

"I still don't understand how we've never met," Sam says. "I thought we knew every hunter, especially ones who knew Bobby."

Penny shrugs and has the grace to look ashamed. "Well after John—your dad—died… We just sort of tried to stay away from you."

"How did you know my father?"

Penny blinks as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "He saved us."

Seeing Sam's confused face Penny frowns. "You really don't know us, do you? Nothing?"

Sam shakes his head. Penny laughs and leans her head back again. "I've lived my entire life hearing about you and Dean," she says, looking at the dirty ceiling. "And you didn't even know we existed. Your old man...he was like a—well not a father exactly...but something. He was important. To Kat especially. She worshiped the man. She has to have read his old journal near a hundred times. I still, after all this time, can't really believe he's gone..."

Her eyes go dark and Sam sees sadness there. He is still confused. "Journal?"

"Yeah," Penny says. "John gave Kat his journal, when we were kids." Seeing Sam's blank expressing Penelope begins to tell her and Kat's story. "When we were little we moved into a haunted house with our parents. Whatever was living there killed my mom and dad, probably would have killed us too if your dad hadn't saved us. Then he gave Kat his journal so she could learn to be a hunter too."

Sam frowns. His father must have saved countless children in his lifetime and he's never heard of the man encouraging any of them to be hunters, let alone giving away his prized journal.

"How old were you?" Sam asks.

Penny shrugs. "I was about 3, Kat was 7."

"So young," Sam says out loud. Why in the world would his dad have given a seven year old a journal full of writings on the supernatural? He hardly even let Sam and Dean hold the damn thing back when they were kids. He looks at Penelope again. These girls must have been something special. He shakes his head. The old man had been dead for close to ten years and he was still making Sam crazy.

"I don't suppose there's any food lying around here?" Penny asks, interrupting his thoughts.

Sam shakes his head. "Nothing you'd want to eat, I'm sure."

Penny huffs. "How far's the closest grocery store? I'm starving."

Sam frowns. It's fully morning, sun streaks in through the grimy windows. "These Redcaps, they go outside in the daylight?"

"Not usually."

It's good enough for Sam. He stands up and extends his hand. "Breakfast?"

…

Kat takes a sip of the green liquid and makes a face. It's terrible. She glances at Dean who just tore into a bag of chips. Why he bought her this foul stuff is beyond her. She tosses the bottle aside and snatches the bag of chips from him. Startled, he watches her stuff a handful in her mouth.

"So what's the plan?" she asks him, her mouth full. Thunder rolls overhead and fat raindrops ting on the tin awning outside.

Dean leans forward, propping his elbows on his knees. "You tell me," he says. "This is your show."

Kat glares at him through another mouthful of chips. "I'm not the one who drove out of the city into this middle of nowhere. This is your neck of the woods, you hick. I'm a city girl."

"Yeah? And I'm not the one to pissed off a clan of crazy vampire pricks."

Kat swallows and sighs, tossing the bag of chips back on the table, no longer hungry as she remembers Morgan's furious gaze. The woman wouldn't give up until she was dead. "The Redcaps are… potentially problematic," she admits.

Dean snorts. "So we beat them," he says simply. "You girls got those silver stakes, I've got my blade. Easy peasey."

Kat can't help but respect his confidence, but she knows how this works. "Easy peasey, sure. Me and Penny will get killed, you and Sam walk away without a scratch. At least, that's how it's always worked before, huh?"

Dean's gaze hardens. "Look, I know you've got some kind of beef with me and my brother but you need to knock it off. I'm trying to help you here."

Kat bites her tongue. He's right. She needs help. She just wishes it wasn't from _him_.

Thunder rolls louder overhead and lightning flashes through the windows. It's nearing noon, but the sky is so dark it could be evening. Kat rubs her eyes and stretches, trying to wake herself up. She's still exhausted. She looks at Dean who lets out a huge yawn. He has circles under his eyes and, despite his admittedly good looks (Kat's angry, she's not blind) he looks like shit. Her eyes grow so heavy she suddenly feels so tired she has to go back and sit on the sofa. Dean blinks hard, trying to wake up himself. He staggers to his feet and nearly collapses on the couch next to her.

Too late they make eye contact. "Something's not right," Kat says, rubbing her eyes again. But it's too late. Her heavy eyes close and she falls back on the couch. A warm weight settles next to her and she knows there is no hope for either of them.

Outside a figure stands in the rain. She grins a toothless grin as she chants a rhythmic spell in a strange language. Lightning flashes, showing her face. She is the woman from the grocery store, and she is holding a bouquet of poppies.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Dean opens his eyes. Above him is a cloudless sky. He is lying on his back in an open field, grass and flowers surrounding him. Sitting up he sees Katerina doing the same. She is looking around, a confused expression on her face.

"Where are we?" he asks her. But she just shakes her head.

As they both stand they hear voices. Just ahead a small family is sitting on a picnic blanket. They walk closer, cautiously and suddenly Kat stops. She watches the family with wide eyes. It's a mother and a father with two young girls. Dean looks back and forth between the family and Kat, an eyebrow raised.

"It's my family," Katerina says without looking away from the scene playing in front of them. The family is eating together, laughing and talking. They don't look up at the two intruders but continue as if Katerina and Dean aren't there.

"It's a memory," Kat says finally. "Something happened to us. I think we are trapped in our minds somehow."

Dean looks around again. The two little girls have gotten up and are now playing together. He recognizes the dark haired one as a young Katerina; the blonde her little sister.

With difficulty, Katerina tears here gaze away from the man and woman who are sitting together on the blanket, now holding hands and laughing.

"Any idea what this is and how we get out?"

Dean rubs his temples. "I've gotta tell ya, I've been stuck in a dreamworld more times than I care to admit. It could be anything from Angels to a Jin, to some kind of crazy sleep psychic, I don't know. But whatever it is, it can't be good."

Suddenly the scene changes and the family disappears. Another family takes it's place. A familiar man with dark hair and brawny figure carries a young boy on his shoulders. A woman with curly blonde hair pushes a baby stroller. They are walking down a quiet street.

Dean rolls his eyes. "I've seen this all before," he yells out. "You're not gonna get me this time."

Katerina watches the family warily, but again the scene changes. Kat and Dean now stand in a darkened house. A piercing scream fills the air and Katerina looks away as the woman from the first scene is thrown across the room by a spectre. She crumples to the ground, her eyes open and lifeless. Not far from her prone body, lies another. A man, also dead.

Dean watches the scene unfold, the girls in the closet, Katerina fighting off the spirit with an iron hanger, his father charging in. He watches as young Katerina saves his father's life, watches as she comforts her toddler sister, and watches his father give away his prized journal. Suddenly a world of things start to make sense to him.

He turns to Katerina who has watched everything in haunted silence, but before he can say anything the scene morphs again. And this time, he knows what's coming. His mother's scream fills the air as her body bursts into flames. John yells at a young Dean to take his baby brother and run. The house explodes into fire and Dean watches it all stoically. He's seen it all a million times before, replayed in his head, in his nightmares.

"So whatever this is...it's showing us our worst memories?" Katerina asks. Her voice sounds like its coming out of a dense fog. Dean shakes his head and forces himself to focus.

"I'm not sure," he says. And again the scene changes.

Kat and Dean stand on a city street watching as two young girls run away from a pack of boys. The boys are shouting and throwing rocks at the two girls. A thirteen year old Katerina herds her little sister down the street, turning a corner and then darting into a shop entrance. As the boys run by, the young girl breathes a sigh of relief.

Young Penelope turns to her sister. "I don't know why you had to punch Tommy," she says. "We should have just ignored him. Now they'll never leave us alone."

Young Kat scoffs. "Well I wasn't just going to stand there after he pushed you in the mud and tried to steal your bag!"

Penny rolls her eyes. "I'm not a baby anymore. I can take care of myself."

"Then why didn't you?" Kat demands. Penelope glares back but before she can answer a voice cuts in.

"Can I help you girls?" The speaker is a middle aged black woman. She stands behind the counter of the hardware store they just entered. She has a short hair and is powerfully built. Her face is stern, but her eyes are kind.

"Um, I'm sorry ma'am," Penelope says. "We were just going." But as they start to leave the shop, the group of boys returns and the girls quickly duck out of sight.

The woman at the counter frowns and looks out. Understanding dawns on her face and she nods. "You two are welcome to stay here for a little bit. Just be mindful of your manners and we won't have a problem. My name's Georgia. You let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you, ma'am," Penelope says politely. She sits on the floor and pulls out a book, while Katerina prowls around the shop. Besides the two girls and the shopkeeper, the store is empty. There are shelves of tools and simple hardware throughout, but something catches Kat's eye. She approaches a windowsill that has a line of salt along the edge. She touches it and brings her finger to her lips just to be sure. Frowning, she turns. All the windowsills have the protective line along them. Her eyes narrow as she inspects a strange carving in the wall. Finally, she looks up. The ceiling is ornately painted with a devil's trap.

"You're a hunter, aren't you?" young Katerina says casually, as if she meets hunters everyday.

The woman's surprise is naked on her face. She studies the young Katerina for a moment, before slowly going to the front door and turning the Open sign to Close.

She turns back to the young girls. Penelope has put down her book and watches the woman with interest.

"What do you know about hunters?" Georgia asks.

The scene morphs again and Dean and Kat now stand in an alleyway. A teenage Katerina and Penelope are fighting a vampire. They each hold a sword and are swinging around with deadly grace.

"That's it," a voice says from the side of the alley. "Sweep with your hips, and follow through." Georgia stands to the side watching closely. The girls are clearly in the midst of a training session with their mentor.

Following her instructions to the tee, teenage Penelope spins on her heel, using the momentum to follow through with a strong and perfect swing of her sword, completely and effectively decapitating the vampire.

Grinning sheepishly, Penelope wipes her brow while Katerina smiles exuberantly.

Dean glances between the teenage Kat and the one standing next to him. They look so similar, yet there is a defined change in their eyes. Young Kat seems so young, so carefree. The older Kat is haunted.

The scene morphs again, so quickly that Dean barely registers the change. They are back in that same alleyway, and this time, Katerina is alone. Her hair is shorter and she looks several years older than the last scene. She fights a demon, his black eyes glinting in the streetlight overhead.

Though she fights furiously, its obvious she is losing. Her face sports a fresh cut over her eyebrow and the demon grabs her by the throat and throws her hard against the wall. She crumples to the ground and then struggles to stand. Dean knows this is a memory, but he itches to help anyway. He looks at Katerina now. She stands with her hands clenched in fists at her sides, but meets his gaze with a rueful grin.

"Don't worry," she says to Dean. "I survive."

He cracks a smile of his own and turns back to the scene. The demon is grinning maliciously and approaching her. He squats in front of her and begins taunting her, but Dean doesn't listen. He's heard it all before. Instead he turns back to present day Kat.

"So, what do you think this is?" he asks her. "Some kind of spell that takes us back in time? Kind of like a ghost of Christmas past kind of thing?"

Kat shrugs. "I'm not sure. It's almost like we are being shown significant moments of our lives. But why?"

"What's significant about this?" Dean asks, turning back. The demon has dragged the flailing young Katerina up the wall and is about to tear her throat out. "You must have fought hundreds of these. Why this one?"

Katerina turns back to the scene. "You'll see," she says.

Just then a figure appears in the alley. He sprints forward, grabbing the demon by the neck, flipping it around and pinning it in a choke hold. His voice rasps in the dark alley, "omnis immundus spiritus..." He continues the familiar spell, all the while keeping hold of the creature with an unfathomable strength that Dean immediately respects. He knows first hand how strong a demon is while possessing a human.

When the spell is done and the demon is sent back to Hell, the mysterious newcomer lowers the body softly to the ground and checks its pulse. "Still alive," he murmurs. He takes out a cell phone and places a call to 911. When he stands up, he approaches Katerina who is leaning against the wall, breathing heavily and trying to staunch a bleeding wound on her head.

She cringes back. "Who are you?"

The stranger reaches toward her, but thinks better of it and stops halfway. "My name is Christophe Kozlova. And we'd better get out of here before the police arrive." He speaks with a Russian accent that is both fluid and rugged at the same time. Younger Kat takes the man's extended hand and rises to her feet. With that, the scene dissolves again.

...

"Dean, it's me. For the fifteenth time. Where are you? Call me back." Sam puts down the cell phone and looks across the diner table at Penelope and tries not to look worried.

Penelope's empty breakfast plate sits in front of her. She ordered two plates of food and inhaled them both as if she hadn't eaten in weeks. Now she sits back and studies Sam.

"Is it like your brother to just ignore your calls like that?"

Sam sighs and shakes his head. "I'm sure they just passed out. None of us have had any sleep. I bet they are as exhausted as you and me. Look, let's go back to Bobby's, rest up and then if they don't call us back by this evening, we'll go looking."

Penelope nods curtly, but doesn't look happy about it.

Sam signals to the waitress who comes bustling over. She is a kind looking older woman and she grins a toothless smile. "Anything else for you two?" she asks.

"Just the check," says Sam.

"Right-e-o," says the waitress. "Looks like rain," she says as she hands the slip of paper over and hurries away. Thunder rumbles from outside and the two head to the car.

Back at Bobby's Penny lays in a dusty bedroom and tries to close her eyes. She tosses to her left, then to her right. Despite the fact that she is very tired, she just can't settle. Something is itching her.

In the adjacent bedroom Sam is doing the same. He kicks off his boots and pulls off his t-shirt, hoping he'll be a bit more comfortable. But sleep eludes him. Deciding to get a glass of water, he rises and opens the bedroom door. Penny is standing on the other side, her arm poised as if about to knock.

"Hey," he says, his eyebrows rising. "What is it?"

Penny lowers her hand and shrugs. "I-um, can't sleep."

"Yeah, me either."

They lock eyes for a moment and something strange passes between them. Without warning, they both lurch forward, into each others arms and soon their mouths and hands are a tangle as they tug at eachother's clothes, falling toward the bed in a whirl of lust that borders on madness. For the next few hours their moans are all the noise that is heard other than the rocking of springs and the banging of an old, dusty headboard.

Outside Bobby's old house, standing behind a decrepit minivan is a woman standing in the rain. She smiles a toothless smile and chants something in a strange language. In her hands she hold a bundle of red roses.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Dean watches from afar as his young self hits on Lisa in a crowded bar. Rolling his eyes, he turns to Katerina again. He has no desire to see this, to relive the moment he first saw Lisa, first fell in love with her. He's had plenty of time to get over that. To get over her.

"In my experience, the only way to get out of this sort of thing is to wake up."

Katerina is focused on the scene playing out in front of her. Dean is leaning against the bar, laughing at something Lisa has said. "How do we go about doing that?" she asks him, not taking her eyes off younger Dean.

He reaches out and pinches Kat hard on the arm.

"Ow!" She jerks from him. "What the hell?"

"Hey, it was worth a try."

"Warn me first, you prick," she angrily rubs at her arm.

Young Dean leans in and kisses Lisa on the lips. Their kiss deepens and becomes almost X rated, despite the fact that they are in a crowded bar. Katerina looks back and forth between young Dean and present Dean. Dean follows her gaze and watches his old self and Lisa, before looking pointedly away.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," he grumbles to no one in particular. He reaches out and tries to take a beer off a nearby table, but his hand goes right through it. "Oh, come on!"

The scene morphs again and they find themselves in a fancy restaurant. The lighting is dim, and the tables are draped in white clothes and sparkling candles. Sitting at the table directly in front of them is Katerina and the stranger from the alley. Christophe. Dean does a double take. The Katerina sitting at the table isn't just beautiful, she is radiant. Supermodel pretty. The kind of pretty that takes your breath away. She is wearing a black dress with a modest neckline, but the material clings to her every curve. Her long dark hair is spilling down her back, framing her face which has the most amazing, striking, heart-stopping smile.

Christophe sits opposite and Dean tears his eyes away from beautiful Kat to study the man. He is a tall guy, with brown hair that is pulled back in a neat man-bun at the nape of his neck. He wears a black suit, his tie-less collar undone at the neck. A rough line of scruff covers his chin and cheeks, as if he hadn't shaved in a couple days, but it works for him. He looks dignified and mature instead of rough and homely.

Without Dean realizing it, Kat has moved away and now stands right next to her past self, staring at Christophe with hungry eyes.

"I didn't plan on this happening," Christophe was saying. "And Georgia vill kill me vhen she finds out, but I don't care anymore. I love you, Katerina." When he says her name, it rolls off his accent like a kiss. "I vant to spend my life with you. I vant us to be together." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a velvet box. Kneeling in front of Katerina, he reveals a large diamond nestled on a delicate ring. "This belonged to my grandmother," he says. "I vould be the happiest man alive to see you vear it. Vill you marry me?"

Present Katerina can not be more different than the past Kat. Past Kat smiles widely, her eyes alight with happiness and love as she accepts the ring and presses her lips against Christophe's. But present Katerina watches the exchanged with her eyes sparkling with tears. She swallows tightly and a tear slips out. She doesn't even bother to wipe it away. It seems she is lost in the moment.

Dean reaches out and touches her. She doesn't seem to notice. He tugs her elbow. "Hey," he says. But she continues to watch Christophe as if she hasn't heard. Dean tugs her arm harder. "Hey," he says louder this time. Slowly Katerina looks at Dean. Her eyes focus on his confusedly, as if she can't remember who he is or where they are.

"You okay?" he asks her.

Her eyes meet his, and like that she seems to remember. She snatches her arm away and looks around wildly before glaring at Dean, as if he's tricked her somehow. She roughly wipes the tears from her eyes and shakes her head. She again looks at Dean accusingly.

Before they can argue, the scene changes again. This time, they see Dean and Lisa sitting together on a couch with Ben between them. They are playing a board game. Ben says something that makes Dean laugh and he reaches out a hand and ruffles the child's head. Lisa reaches out and kisses Dean on the temple. They are the very picture of a perfect family. Dean can't tear his gaze away. He remembers this moment so clearly. It was about a month after he lost Sam, a month after he'd shown up on Lisa and Ben's doorstep. It was the first time he'd ever felt at home, part of a normal family. The love that had touched him then...it was indescribable. He'd never felt anything like it.

Looking at that moment being replayed in front of him is intoxicating. He moves forward, standing next to his past self. He reaches out, almost as if he is trying to take the place of his past body, trying to make this real again.

A hand tugs him hard on the elbow, but he ignores it. Ben just looked at him with those shining eyes. He wants this back so badly.

"Dean!" Kat's voice sounds muffled, far away.

She yanks him, hard and he stumbles into her. He visibly shakes his head to clear it and focuses on Katerina. "We gotta get out of here," he says.

Suddenly the scene changes again, but it takes longer to reform. A sudden lurch happens and Katerina and Dean are separated as they both fall to the ground. When everything is still once more, they both stand. They are now in the sitting room of a small house. It's tidy and cozy. A fire crackles in a fireplace near a bookshelf lined with photographs.

"Where are we?" Katerina asks Dean. He looks around again and shrugs. "This isn't one of my memories."

"Mine either."

Dean approaches the bookshelf to examine the photographs. "You sure about that?" he asks, pointing to a framed picture.

Kat comes forward and squints at the photograph. Her eyes widen. "How…?" The picture frame contains a photo of Katerina and Christophe smiling on their wedding day. She looks so happy and beautiful, smiling at the camera. Christophe's face is angled toward her, looking at his new bride with utter adoration on his face.

Katerina shakes her head and backs away. "This isn't one of my memories," she says.

"What do you mean?" Dean asks. "There's a picture of your wedding."

"No," Kat says. "We never got married."

Dean squints at the photo again, confused.

"Katerina?" They both jump and look around for the source of the accented voice that comes from the hallway. Christophe enters the room. His hair is damp and hanging lose on his shoulders as if he'd just gotten out of the shower. He is wearing a red flannel shirt and jeans and his face bears the same scruffy whiskers from the previous memory.

Dean looks around for the Katerina from the memory, but there is no one else there. Besides, Christophe is looking at present Katerina. And she is looking back with an expression on her face that he can't place. Disbelief? Longing? Sadness?

"Vat are you doing out here?" Christophe asks her, a smile playing on his lips. "You were supposedd to join me in the shower. We better hurry, Penelope and baby Jonah will be here soon."

"Jonah?" Kat's voice is breathless.

Christophe's eyes soften. "Yes, Jonah. Penelope's baby."

"He's...alive?"

Christophe smiles lovingly. "Yes, my love. You saved him. Just like you saved me."

Kat shakes her head. "But I didn't," she nearly whispers. "I didn't save you...I killed you."

"Shhhh," Christophe puts a soft finger over Kat's lips. "No. Don't think of that..."

Katerina closes her eyes and breathes in deeply as if to relish the feel of Christophe touching her.

Christophe folds his arms around her and she gasps. She can feel him, fully. This isn't a memory, it's real. She feels him, just as firmly as she felt Dean pinch her earlier. Her heart clenches and releases. She has dreamed of this moment countless times, every night, ever since...But no. She won't think of that night.

"I've missed you," Christophe whispers in her ear, his voice is like a caress.

"I've missed you too," Katerina says. She can feel herself getting lost in the moment, but for once she doesn't care. Why should she fight this? It's all she's ever wanted.

Dean watches this all from the side of the room. It seems they have both forgotten he is there. As they embrace he sees Katerina's image start to fade, as if she is disappearing.

"Hey, hey hey hey!" He calls out, charging forward. He tries to grip Katerina's arm but his hand goes through her. "Kat!' he shouts. "Kat, come back to me! This isn't real. This isn't real!"

Dean's voice comes through to Katerina as if from far away. At first she tries to ignore it, but the more he yells the more she feels an itching in her mind. Part of her wants to forget about everything else, and just stay here with Christophe.

"It isn't real!" Dean's voice says.

"It's not real?" Katerina asks, but she is asking Christophe. He looks down at her with those love-filled eyes.

"It's real if you want it to be. It's real if you stay."

Katerina pulls back a bit, and glances at Dean. He is standing behind her, but is blurry somehow, as if he's underwater. Christophe puts a soft hand under her chin and tilts her face up to his. "Stay with me," he says.

"Kat! Don't you do it," Dean shouts, his voice is louder now.

"I love you," Christophe whispers.

"Katerina!"

"Christophe?" Kat says.

"Katerina, this is NOT REAL."

Kat closes her eyes, trying to block out Dean's yells. But deep down, she knows he's right.

"This isn't real?" she asks again, dropping her arms away from Christophe. It breaks her heart, but she pulls away. "You're not real." Her voice is a whisper, but Dean sees her more clearly now. She is coming back.

Christophe's anguish is all over his face. "Please Katerina," he says. "Please, stay with me. Don't leave me alone."

Katerina looks at Christophe again, then back to Dean. She doesn't know what to do. She could stay here. Would it really be that bad? Forgetting the world, leaving it all behind? Staying with Christophe? Even if it is a dream….

"I know what you're thinking," Dean says. "I see it in your eyes. But don't you do it. Don't you give up. The world sucks, I know it, but you have to fight. You can't stay here. I won't let you! Come back to me!"

His words jar her just long enough for her to pull away, one final tug. As soon as Christophe ceases touching her, he disappears and the scene morphs.

This time, Katerina knows exactly where she is and what she is seeing before the scene even solidifies. They stand in a dark clearing in the woods. Rain is pouring down, lightning flashes high overhead revealing two people fighting. A silver stake flashes.

Dean, panting, approaches Katerina and hesitantly reaches out. "Are you okay?" he asks her. She looks at him and then looks back at the two people fighting.

Dean follows her gaze, realizing that he is watching Katerina and Christophe fighting to the death. He can tell by Kat's haunted eyes that this is definitely a memory.

"It's when I killed him," she answers his unvoiced question. She watches the fight sadly. It's clear much has happened since the night at the restaurant. Lightning flashes overhead and Dean sees that Christophe's face looks different. Colder, paler.. He dodges a particularly wild strike from Katerina and when he opens his mouth to let out a taunting laugh Dean sees the long, bright fangs.

"He got turned?" Dean asks.

Katerina nods. "It took me three years to track him down. By then, the Red Caps had made him their leader. There wasn't much left of him by then."

Past Katerina spins in the air, kicking out a foot that Christophe catches and throws aside like a rag. She falls to the ground and Christophe aims a vicious kick at her face. She only just avoids it as she lurches to the side.

The fight continues, the rain falling hard and fast, sporadic lightning flashing through the trees. Finally there is a pause. Katerina is nearly spent. Dean can tell her ankle is either broken or badly sprained. She is weak and exhausted and no match against a Red Cap twice her size.

"Katerina," Christophe says, and even though he has changed so much, his voice is the same. The way he says her name.

Panting Kat supports herself on a tree. Christophe approaches and grabs her right arm roughly, holding the silver stake above her head and out of reach. His mouth is inches away from hers, and Dean can see the fangs glinting. "Before I kill you," Christophe hisses, "I think I'll have one last kiss." He presses his lips against hers, roughly and angrily. There is no love there. None of the tenderness Dean saw before. There is only evil.

Dean watches the past Katerina pull another silver stake from her back, watches as she shoves it hard and deep into Christophe's unprotected chest, watches as the light leaves his eyes as he falls to the ground.

Both Katerinas look down at the dead Christophe with identical expressions on their face. Dean has never seen such devastation.

The scene morphs.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Sam rests his head against Penelope's bare thigh. He's exhausted. The past few hours have been...eventful. He isn't sure what happened, all he knows is that he can't keep his hands off Penelope. And she can't keep her hands off him.

Even now, breathing a little heavily in their post coital exhaustion, she strokes his hair. He rolls onto his side and looks at her face. God, she is beautiful. He can't stop himself, he starts kissing her again. First her knees, then her thighs, he moves up to her stomach and stops…

There is a scar on her abdomen he hasn't seen before. He didn't think there was an inch of her body he hasn't explored yet, but then, he wasn't exactly taking his time before. Now, he examines the thin line running horizontally between her hips.

"It's a c-section scar," Penny says. Sam looks up at her, surprised.

"A c-section. You mean…?"

"Yeah," says Penelope. "I had a baby once."

Sadness fills her face and Sam feels a weight settling inside him. It's clear that the baby is no longer here.

"What happened?" he asks.

"I don't usually talk about it," Penny says. She looks away from him for a moment. He rolls over and lays his head next to hers on the pillow.

"It was about four years ago. I got pregnant by some dead beat I met. He skipped town the moment he found out, but that didn't matter. He was a loser anyway. But I decided to keep it. Kat was ecstatic. She made me quit hunting, go on a special diet...she bought all this baby stuff." Penny laughs softly. "I never knew she was so maternal, you know? But-" She swallows and her face darkens. "There was a witch that we pissed off a few years earlier. I guess she tracked us down...did some kind of spell…" She pauses and swallows thickly. "The doctors couldn't explain what happened, but Kat and I knew. We found the hex bag after we got home. I named the baby Jonah, after our dad. I think Kat took it harder than I did. It wasn't long after that happened that she took off, went to find Christophe. She was never the same after that. I guess neither of us were."

Sam watches Penny's face as she talks. His brow creases as he realizes she and Kat have been through just as much, if not more, as he and Dean. Both of their lives torn apart by the supernatural. Without thinking, he gathers Penelope into his arms and their lovemaking resumes.

…

Katerina and Dean are yet again thrown to the ground as the scene around them settles. Standing up they find themselves in Lisa's kitchen. Ben is there, sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal and doing some last minute homework.

Lisa smiles at Dean from over the island counter. "Don't forget," she says to Dean, "Sam and Jess are coming over for dinner tonight." Dean looks around. There is no past self standing near him. This isn't a memory then.

He looks over at Katerina and sighs. "I guess it's my turn for 'It's a Wonderful Life.'"

He turns back to Lisa who is looking at him confused. She laughs. "Who are you talking to?" But before he can answer Ben calls out.

"Hey Dad, are you going to pick me up today after practice?"

Again Dean looks around dumbly. No one else is there and Ben is looking at him. Ben called him Dad. Dean swallows tightly.

"No, Ben," Lisa answers for him. "Dad's gotta pick up Mary from daycare so Jimmy's mom is picking you up."

"Mary?" Dean can't help himself.

Just then a child toddles into the kitchen. She runs unsteadily up to Dean and wraps her arms around his legs. "Dadada!" she says. Without thinking, Dean bends down and picks the baby up.

She can't be more than a year old, with sparkling green eyes and a halo of curly blond hair. She looks just like him...but with Lisa's smile.

"Gagoo, agooo!" the baby babbles at him and despite himself, tears prick his eyes. He was prepared for Lisa. He was prepared for Ben. He was ready to back away from them...but this? He wasn't prepared for this.

The baby's face is just inches from his. Her cute chubby cheeks, her little toothy grin, her shining eyes full of innocence and trust. His daughter. _His_ daughter. He's never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life.

And like that, he starts to fade. Katerina, who is watching the scene warily, steps forward. "Dean," she says softly. She can't believe the love she sees pouring from Dean's eyes. He is utterly transfixed on the child he holds in his arms. She can't say she blames him.

"Dean," she says again, reaching out to touch him. But like it was when she was touching Christophe, Dean is like a fine mist. "Dean!" she says louder. "Dean, I know you want to, but you can't stay here. We've got to get back. Back to Penelope and Sam. Dean, listen to me."

Katerina's voice floats over Dean without touching him. He is too focused on the baby. She sucks her little thumb and leans her head against his chest, her feathery hair tickling his chin. He closes his eyes and relishes the warm weight of her.

"Dean!"

He knows it's not real. He knows it. But just a little longer…

Katerina is starting to panic. He is becoming less and less visible. "Damn it, DEAN!"

Taking a deep breath, Dean kisses the child on top of her precious head and slowly puts her on the floor. Once he stops touching her, the scene morphs again.

Now they stand in an abandoned warehouse watching as a possessed Lisa stabs herself in the stomach. Dean closes his eyes and turns to Katerina. "Thanks," he grumbles to her.

She nods. "Don't mention it."

They watch in silence as Lisa nearly bleeds to death. The scene starts to morph again, but this time something happens. Instead of a new scene solidifying there is a jerk and Dean feels as if he is being yanked by an invisible hook just under his navel. After a dizzying moment he opens his eyes and finds himself back in the old farmhouse on the old rumpled couch.

He is laying on top of Katerina, his head resting on her chest as if they had fallen asleep as lovers. He quickly straightens up as Katerina does the same. There is a short, awkward moment when they look at each other, but quickly snap out of it when a sound is heard from the front door.

It's a loud banging.

Kat runs to the front window and finds it is now dark outside. The house is surrounded.

"The redcaps must have tracked us here. Put us out of commission until nightfall and they could attack. They can't go out in the daylight, remember?"

Dean peers out behind her. "But you said they can't come in here right? They can't enter houses?"

"That doesn't mean they can't burn them down."

And sure enough, a group of redcaps emerge from behind a row of cars carrying flaming torches and bottles of kerosine.

"It's time for you to show me what you've got, Winchester," Katerina says.

Dean already has the first blade in his hand. "Bring it on," he says.


End file.
